Chapter 367: Let’s Be Allies
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
The Ricks were not the only ones staying in the hotel beside Li Du and his team: Frank and York were staying there as well.
In a standard hotel room, York looked on helplessly at Frank. "Bro," he said, "why did we come all the way here? We should go back. LA is the land of wealth, not here."
Frank was playing with his pet dog. "Of course LA is the land of wealth, but our immediate priority now is not to make money, but to earn our status back."
"What about our status?" asked York. "We are two of the best treasure hunters around. Okay, besides those monsters, we’re two of the best, no doubt about that."
Frank glared at him. "You didn’t notice the problem? What did we hear while we were in Phoenix?"
York laughed bitterly. "You believed those country bumpkins? We don’t need to bother with what they’ve said."
Frank replied furiously, "Not bother? How can we not be bothered by that? D*mn, those b*st*rds said we got pawned by that Chinese man! What a joke, ridiculous!"
York tried to reason with him. "Don’t fret, brother. We took away their most precious storage units in Phoenix. You saw the faces of those b*st*rds. They’re just out to spite us since they lost to us."
Frank pushed his Rottweiler away and replied, "No, it’s not so simple. They really do think that Chinese man’s competent. We need to teach him a lesson!"
The Rottweiler was still in a playful mood and wanted to play with its owner. However, Frank’s anger was about to explode—he kicked it in the chest and it crumpled to the floor.
The Rottweiler gave a sad yelp, tucked in its tail, and hid under the couch.
York stopped talking as well. He understood his partner’s temperament. If he continued talking, he could be in for a bashing too.
Frank’s short temper was unbearable to York. Nonetheless, Frank’s strong analytical powers and judgment were truly incredible. He could earn more by partnering with Frank, and so he stayed with him.
They had come to Arizona because Frank had received news that an owner of a silver store got into an accident and passed away. The storage units that he owned would be put up for auction.
Frank had brought York and rushed over from LA to Phoenix. They had managed to get hold of the valuable units and found a batch of precious silver armor.
Not only that, the silver armor was a complete set as well, which meant they would earn more money. Although this could not be compared to the gold sand storage unit they had found in San Francisco, it was definitely an impressive value. If they could sell the silver for a good price, they would officially become members of the Million Dollar Club!
York had originally wanted to leave once they got hold of the silver armor, but Frank was unwilling to go. He had heard that Li Du and Hans were in Holbrook and insisted on coming here.
York thought that Frank had wanted to show off his winnings. However, things were not as simple as they had seemed; he might need to stay in Arizona for a short while.
He was troubled by that thought, and suddenly someone came knocking at the door.
The Rottweiler became wary; it raised its head and barked. Frank shouted, "Go on, go bite!"
York hastily stopped the big, eager dog. He walked to the door and peeped through the spy hole. Then he turned to Frank and said, "It’s Dog Ears Rick."
"Who’s Dog Ears Rick?" Frank deliberately threw the question at York, his face full of disdain upon hearing that name.
York replied with a sigh, "Calm down, bro, don’t be like this. We can’t be making enemies everywhere we go. Our line of business requires a good amount of connections."
Frank retorted, "That idiot Dog Ears is worthy enough to be part of my network of connections? That fellow seems to have offended some Native Americans and he’s now their dog. What’s he here for? To get a bashing?"
"The Ricks are just outside," said York. "Let them in and see what they want."
The Ricks showed a friendly smile when the door was opened. "Hello, York. Buddy, it’s nice to see you here. When I heard you were in town, I couldn’t believe it."
York gave Rick a warm hug. "We knew that you were here," laughed York. "And since we happen to be in Phoenix, we thought: why not pay a visit to our old friend Rick?"
Lil’ Rick grinned and said, "You don’t have to—"
"No, no, no," York interrupted Lil’ Rick. "We need to. We should pay a visit. After all, back in LA, you reached out to us."
Not too long ago in LA, Warner Bros had put their movie prop warehouses up for auction. Some treasure hunters had responded to Frank’s call to teach Li Du a lesson. In the end, the had Ricks taken care of that for Li.
Although both Frank and York were annoyed with that incident, the Ricks were even more indignant about it.
Even now, Rick felt like his heart was suffering from severe pain every time he thought about the incident.
He had wanted to salvage his relationship with Li Du, so he had agreed to play hero for him.
But unfortunately, he hadn’t managed to win Li Du’s goodwill, instead offending Frank and York.
Rick tried hard to explain himself. "Hey York, my good buddy, I’m here today to explain our actions. I was fooled then—fooled by that b*st*rd Chinaman!"
York stared at him and replied, "Oh, the cunning Dog Ears got fooled? This is really big news."
Suddenly, Frank pointed to the entrance and commanded, "Go! Go, Mayne!"
The Rottweiler dashed straight forward towards the Ricks and landed on Lil’ Rick, who fell to the ground.
Lil’ Rick screamed in shock, "F*ck, f*ck, f*ck! Help!"
Frank gave a hearty laugh then shouted another command: "Mayne, come back!"
York quickly grabbed the Rottweiler, and threw it back into the room. Lil’ Rick got up awkwardly; still recovering from his shock, he yelled, "D*mn, you crazy—"
Rick shoved his son aside and with a stern look warned, "Shut up!"
"Don't take it to heart, young lad, we’re just fooling around," said Frank, with a relaxed shrug. "Ha! York, look, it’s not difficult to prank Dog Ears, we should believe him."
York laughed too. "Very well, we believe you. So, what are you here for? What do you want?"
Lil’ Rick looked at Frank and York with resentment while Rick smiled and replied, "We are here to talk about some secret, important information, which is not suitable to say with the door open. Can we come in?"
York stepped aside. "Please."
Rick went in and tugged his son along. But, with a grim look, Lil’ Rick pushed him away, and stubbornly stood at the door.
York went up and gave Lil’ Rick a hug. "My apologies, young pal. Guess the joke was a little too much for you. Come on in. We’re interested in your secret, important information."
When both parties were seated, Frank asked, "Okay, tell us what this is about."
Rick replied, "It’s about forming an alliance. We should be allies and deal with that Chinaman together—"
Frank cackled loudly before Rick could finish his sentence. "Bullsh*t, I’ve f*cking heard some bullsh*t! Fight together against that Chinaman? What’s this about? Is this an alliance between USA and Russia against the German fascism?"
Rick said seriously, "Frank, listen to me, don’t underestimate that Chinaman. I’ve been studying him—"
"Just go to hell with that Chinaman," Frank interrupted again. "I can fix him without any alliance. It will be too easy to deal with him. I just need to get serious."
Rick was not someone with a very good temper either. After being insulted several times in a row, he sneered with contempt and stood up. "Well then, let's go, my son—we’ll see how Mr. Frank Boll deals with the Chinaman! But this time, we’ll deal with that b*st*rd first! Mr. Boll can have a good look at how we do it!"